BishopAccountability.org
	Former Church Music Director Sentenced Fox 23 [Rotterdam NY] September 25, 2005 43 year-old Malcomb Kogut read off a five-page statement today. Kogut, the former music director at Saint Gabriel's Church in Rotterdam, began by saying he was wrong to have had oral sex with a choirboy. "As the adult, I knew that this young man was under the age of 17...I should not have engaged in such an immoral and illegal act," says Malcomb Kogut. But Kogut emphasized it was a one-time thing and so should be given leniency. "It was a blinded moment of temptation and weakness and I promise it will never happen again," said Kogut That wasn't good enough for the mother and father who call that single victim their son. They wanted no leniency shown. "...A 40-year-old man should not be doing this to a minor...taking, you know, his childhood away from him," says the victim's mother. "We trusted a man who took advantage of a child," said the victim's father. "My son is in counseling, not only just talking, he comes home crying. He's devastated." Attorney John Aretakis doesn't represent the victim in this case. But he represents several people alleging sexual abuse by priests. He says he's not surprised Kogut's sentencing comes on the same day as the rape sentencing for former Christian Brothers Academy teacher Beth Geisel. "What it shows is that the crisis in the Catholic Church and in catholic institutions and schools is far from over," says Aretakis.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.